The No. 25 Kentucky Wildcats (8-3, 5-3 SEC) take on the Louisville Cardinals (6-5, 4-4 ACC) at Cardinal Stadium Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Kentucky at Louisville odds and lines, and make our expert college football picks, predictions and bets.
Kentucky’s successful SEC season has been a combination of its offense averaging 31.6 points per game with a stout defense that’s giving up just 335.8 yards per game (27th nationally). The Wildcats have stumbled a bit of late, however, as they failed to cover their last three conference games before blowing out New Mexico State 56-16 last week.
Rankings according to the AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Louisville is coming off a 62-22 thrashing of Duke in a game that QB Malik Cunningham tallied 500-plus yards of offense with 7 touchdowns (5 passing, 2 rushing). Cunningham has been the engine behind a Louisville offense ranked 19th in yards per game (459.6) this season. The Cardinals have covered their last two games against Duke and Syracuse.
Kentucky at Louisville odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:40 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Kentucky +125 (bet $100 to win $125) | Louisville -155 (bet $155 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Kentucky +2.5 (+100) | Louisville -2.5 (-125)
- Over/Under (O/U): 57.5 (O: -115 | U: -107)
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Kentucky at Louisville odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Louisville 35, Kentucky 28
Money line
Despite its 6-5 record, Louisville comes in as the hotter team, and we expect them to handle the Wildcats Saturday. Given the small spread, PASS on the money line and get better odds by taking Louisville to win by at least a field goal.
Against the spread
Louisville and Cunningham seem to be hitting their stride at the right time with a pair of blowout ACC wins, while Kentucky somewhat stumbled down the stretch in SEC play. While the Wildcats have a slight edge on defense compared to Louisville (392.6 yards allowed per game; 78th nationally), the edge isn’t wide enough to make up for what the Cardinals should do on offense.
Look for LOUISVILLE -2.5 (-125) to win a tightly played battle for the Governor’s Cup.
Over/Under
The Over has hit in two of Louisville’s last three games and in three of Kentucky’s last four. The line here is certainly attainable given Louisville’s success on offense with a suspect defense, so we’re leaning toward the OVER 57.5 (-115) here.
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